354 



CORN 



The amount of water present depends upon the kind of feed and the 

 conditions to which it has been exposed ; for hay, fodders and {jrains 

 are constantly taking up and giving off water according to atmospheric 

 changes."* 



Pasture grasses contain from 62 to 80 per cent of water; while 

 roots, like mangels, beets, and carrots may contain 87 to 90 per cent ; 

 and hay and grains from 8 to 15 per cent. As the percentages of all the 

 other ingredients decrease proportionately as the water content in- 

 creases, this is an important factor to consider in the tabulated analy- 

 ses of feeds. 



Water, when organic, that is, a normal constituent of the feed it- 

 self, as in beets or silage, has a direct effect on the animal functions ; 

 especially is this true of the dairy cow. Within certain limits the more 

 water a cow can be induced to take into her body, the more milk she 

 will produce without affecting the quality. In this respect organic wa- 

 ter, as in silage or roots, is most efficacious. 



Water has several uses in the animal economy. It aids the digest- 

 ive organs in dissolving the more concentrated portions of the feed and 

 has the beneficial physiological effect of keeping the bowel contents 

 free and loose. This is the reason why green fodder, used as a soil- 

 ing crop, in fall after the pastures are dry, and ensilage, fed during 

 the winter, are such valuable adjuncts to a corn and hay ration. 



THE FEEDING VALUE OF CORN 



The value of any feed depends upon, first, its percentage composi- 

 tion of digestible and desirable nutri« nts, together with the propor- 

 tions of these components; second, its palatability and ease of masti- 

 cation, and third, its cost of production and preparation for feeding. 

 PERCENTAGE COMPOSITION. 



TABLE SHOWING IN PER CENT THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 

 OF CORN IN DIFFERENT FORMS 



A study of this table shows corn to be very high in percentage oi 

 nitrogen-free extract. When it is considered that 70 per cent of the 

 corn kernel is starch, the fact that corn is so heat-forming in work- 

 ing animals is not strange. The 5.02 per cent of oil is very 



*For example, grains raised in California are sold by weight, and when loaded on ships are 

 in a very dry condition. In their voyage across the Pacific they absorb water from the 

 atmosphere and in this way often increase sufficiently in weight to pay the freight. 



